Monday, March 25, 2013

"We started the project out just about a year ago. Originally we were planning to send a simple, perhaps silly, song to a school in Belgium; well we may have gotten a little passionate about this “simple” song. But the main point is that yes, the Water Project is something we all felt extremely passionate to finish and to show someone the message we were trying to convey."

Melvina Kurashige teaches Japanese at Mid-Pacific Institute (MPI) in Honolulu, HI. She connected with Caitlin Krause, a teacher at St. John’s International School in Belgium who was teaching a project about water to her 8th graders. She wanted to connect with other 8th graders with another class in another country. The project was connected to St. John's International School's Big Ideas Week theme about water.

"Their water song project was a self-directed project based on students’ passions. It was done entirely outside of class time… before school, lunch, after school, weekends and vacations."

Melvina believes her learners are Expert Learners: learners who have a passion, a dream with every step they take. There were nine Expert Learners who took the water project to the next level. They tied in Haiku and poetry writing and collaborated with Ken Makuakane, a local Hawaiian musician who helped them with song writing. They found other friends who wanted to meet before and after school including weekends and vacations. They brought their own passions together to record and video their poem as a song.

Ken Makuakane was an inspiration to the learners. He helped them to look at water metaphorically. Their final song was actually the second song they wrote. Ken and Melvina asked them to tie in teen issues to make connections with water and then the learners wrote pages and pages. Learners were moved by how water could become a metaphor in their life as teens. They were invited to present at the School of the Future Conference.

"I honestly thought this has been one of the most amazing times in my life. Just the experience as a whole. All the great friendships made, the journey taken, the genius shown and the masterpieces created. One big part of this climb, was presenting, at the school of the future conference. This part was truly great. I thought it was amazing, how teachers really wanted to hear what children think, do, and wonder, how many people came, even how well it was planned and carried out." Kai, Expert Learner at MPI

Not only did these Expert Learners create a video but they created another video below reflecting on the process.

"There are many factors that drove us to keep up this project for a year. Actually, there is probably a different reason for each and everyone one of us. My part in the project was the artistic portion. We had planned for me and another member (Preston) to animate/draw parts to add to the finished project: a video. But basically, my passion in life is art. I draw it, I read and watch it, you could even say I breathe it. My role in this project drove me to finish it; to see my art brought to life (animation) and somehow convey the message to others that yes, you do matter. The thought of that maybe my art may warm someone’s heart somewhere out there really was why I wanted to finish this project."SachiThey performed the song at chapel with Ken Makuakane. While they sang the song, two of the learners drew on flip charts behind them. Nick Payne, a Graphic Facilitator from Belgium inspired their Visual Thinking (http://nickpayne.eu/Home/Home.html). Check out Nick's website about visual thinking and his Scribble School (http://visuology.net/Welcome.html).

"All their ideas were intrinsically motivated. I really was just the adult there. They created this song project all on their own!" Melvina

"It just showed me there are so many opportunities out there and so many people who are willing to help and listen. You have just got to find your passion and it will drive you. The importance of passion in our project was enormous. It is what kept us together and moving forward. It's what created this cause. We all had a passion for something we could contribute to this project. Whether it be, music, public speaking, connections, or even visual art skills, we all could put in our part to make a better team and end product. One of the major points about the Water project is that it was completely drawn and lead by our dreams, goals and passions. We, as students and as individuals, created this project and with help of a few truly remarkable, incredible people, we have been given the opportunity to reach our dreams, find our passions and pursue our goals. One thing stands alone everywhere you look. There's the famous, the rich, and the important. It all started with a passion. Everything can be achieved with passion, opportunity and drive. You make your own destiny."Kai

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Sarah Downing-Ford's Journey to Personalize Learning

7th grade middle school teacher at Massabesic Middle School in Waterboro, Maine. We recently interviewed Sarah after viewing the video of her class where her learners assess their own work.

"For so many years, students would
receive grades and not know where they came from, what assignments led up to
them, how they would be assessed. Now they're involved in not only creating the
units and deciding how they will assess themselves, but also how they will
assess each other."

1. What does Personalized Learning mean to you?

Personalized learning, especially in larger schools systems, can be tricky. If a middle school ELA teacher has 90 students and 28 measurement topics (with about 5 levels for each) ...doing the math equals = unmanageable. For a teacher to manage all learning might drive them to the nut house after one trimester. However, if students are given the tools and understanding of how to navigate the measurement topics and learning goals independently (and with assistance), the task becomes less daunting. This is not to say that all students are ready for this shift AND that there is not direct instruction. Personalized learning does not mean eliminating the teacher. There are some students that don't want to, and are not ready to, manage their own learning; they "want" to be told how to meet the targets. Others may be eager to charge through the targets and ascend levels like rungs on a ladder. The balance on the beam is determining if students are driven by intrinsic or extrinsic motivation.

The expression, "You can lead a horse to water..." is an understatement when it comes to personalized learning. The key for teachers is to: lay a framework, create a community of students who don't throw in the towel when they are stuck and to make classroom expectations clear.

2. How do you and your students understand how they learn best?

At the beginning of the year, a pivotal time to get to know your students as learners and human beings, my classes take a number of learning style inventories. We explore how we understand information (auditory, visual, kinesthetic and a combination of all). We also examine how we "attack" a project or task.

Do I make a mess and clean it up later or do I follow guidelines step by step? How we learn is important, but it is equally important to tap into our interests and strengths. Together, we create a list of all of our in-house experts. We have experts in making people smile, cooking, taking care of farm animals, and whining. While it is important for me to know how students learn best, it is more important for students to become their own advocates. Creating a climate where a student can say, "Mrs. X, can you please give me written directions in addition to repeating them?" is my ultimate goal.

3. Describe the personalized learning environment in your classroom and the first steps you took to create it.

As teachers know, every year brings with it curriculum changes, staff shifts and new crop of

students. Hopefully, student needs drive our instruction. RSU 57 is in transition from traditional education to a standards based learning system and my students have had varied exposure to personalized learning. Due to this, we tackle new learning as a whole group. If students are willing and able to move faster, they may. If students need to slow down, look from a different point of view, practice, they may. Again, with this paradigm shift comes the change in tools to access learning and progress. Currently, students do not have access to the online grading system in order to track their progress. This is a sticky situation. While we want students to be independent, the online grading system can not be accessed. Currently, students refer to progress charts posted in my room as a visual reminder of what they have completed and what they have not. Also, each student has a “check-list” of measurement topics and levels upon which they track their progress.

4. What have you learned and what changes have you made from your initial steps?

It seems like a life-time ago that I attended my first conference about Standards Based Education/ Performance Based Education/Personalized Learning, etc. Sometimes keeping up with the changes in verbiage is a task in itself. I have learned a lot in the past four years. Here is a top ten of what I have learned:

10. Don’t underestimate the abilities/flexibility of students.
9. Never assume the abilities/flexibility of students.
8. Share struggles, successes, questions with colleagues and students.
7. Don’t scrap the old stuff; as long as it meets a target, it is worthy.
6. Communicate with parents and students a lot, you can not communicate too much.
5. Find ways to create a bridge between the old system and the new system.
4. Stay organized.
3. Work with your team of teachers to create interdisciplinary units.
2. Nothing works as a canned program, modify as needed.
1. Have fun!

5. Share the story of your learners' personal journeys along with any photos, videos, reflections, and any links to projects or evidence of learning.

If you asked my student three years ago what our 5th grade class looked like in September and compared it to what it looked like in June, they would probably say that is transformed from organized chaos to unorganized responsibility. I have been involved in many trainings helping teachers with the steps to a PBE model and I bring with me an awkward video of my fifth graders.

They recount the beginning of the year as confusing, not understanding why we were doing what we were and feeling lost. Luckily, as the year progressed, they started to see, and own, their education in a way that they hadn’t before. They started to understand how assignments tied to a learning target and how the learning target tied to the report card. As teachers, understandably, we get bogged down with what we are going to teach, the best way to teach it to our group(s), meeting everyones’ needs, following IEPs, changing curriculum, meeting taxonomy, etc. The list goes on and on. When we start to give some of these pieces to students, many things can happen.

Students start to understand what we are trying to do behind the big curtain. They can see the linear growth of learning targets and what needs to be accomplished. The desired effect is a buy-in to their own education. In my 7th grade ELA classroom, students track their progress on a corkboard. Assignments and assessments are logged, and checked off when all targets assigned to it have been met. Students also track their progress through all of the 28 measurement topics (by level) on individual charts. They can see where there have been gaps in their learning and the areas they need to work on. These tools, process and language are still new to the majority of students and each year brings with it another learning curve.

6. Include your own journey, small photo of you, your bio and contact information so our readers can get to know you.

My mother is still surprised that I am a teacher because I hated school; I would often fake sickness often to avoid it. Now, sixteen years into my career, I wouldn’t choose to do anything else. I walk into school thinking about what I will teach and I leave thinking about what I have learned. My students are my world. That sounds so PollyAnna, but it is true. Around October of each year, my mother asks if this group is as wonderful as last year’s crop and they are! I have taught fifth grade to high school, ELA, social studies and music appreciation. When I lived in Colorado, my first full time assignment was as an interventionist where I designed individual instruction for 6, 7, and 8th grade students in a pull-out program. Every position that I have held has taught me volumes about myself and teaching as an art. Five years ago, I became a Teacher Consultant with the Southern Maine Writing Project and I continue to serve on their leadership team. I direct summer writing camps for Southern Maine and I am very involved in training teachers using the PBE model in my, and neighboring, districts. One of my students interviewed me this year for her research project on “How people learn”. She asked for a piece of advice to a college student studying to be a teacher.

"I affirm to be true to yourself, be true to your students and don’t listen to the negativity that the public says about our profession. We do changes lives one student at a time."